The Social Network

(PG-13, Now Avail.)

"We've lived on farms! We've lived in cities! Now we're going to live on the Internet!" Despite being the coke-fuelled ravings of a paranoid egomaniac, these words spoken by a character in "The Social Network" are undeniably true.

In 2003, Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg, "Adventureland") is a Harvard student desperately seeking something big "to get the attention of the clubs. Because... they lead to a better life." Smarter than most, Mark believes himself destined for something great. However, when his girlfriend dumps him, Mark returns to his dorm room, drunk and inspired. The result is the instantly popular facemash.com, a site that allows his classmates to vote on pictures of Harvard girls.

What's notable is not the site itself, nor the controversy it causes. What's notable is how Mark created it and what its success signifies. Knowing he's tapped into something, three fellow students approach him with an idea for a website to connect all of Harvard. What they have in mind is something that offers exclusivity. Unlike Friendster or MySpace, HarvardConnection would only be for Harvard students.

Enlisted to write the site's code, Mark takes the idea and runs with it, leaving his classmates out when he launches thefacebook.com, a site that is exactly what they had proposed. Mark's classmate, benefactor, and only friend, Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield), is unaware of Mark's questionable ethics. Among other things, this movie explores the irony of Zuckerberg losing his only real friend as a result of developing Facebook.

"The Social Network" is directed by David Fincher ("Fight Club," "Zodiac"). Unlike most of his previous work, his touch is less pronounced. It still looks like a David Fincher film, but it sure sounds like Aaron Sorkin, creator of "The West Wing" and writer of the outstanding "Charlie Wilson's War." Sorkin is known for writing very intelligent characters delivering dialogue that borders on the literary. He can be hit-and-miss but when he's on, he's really on, and thankfully that is the case here.

Like Sorkin's better work, the movie has a strong sense of humor blended with believable drama and excellent character development. Thankfully it is also not about Facebook itself. It's about the way the Internet has irrevocably changed how we live our lives, which includes how we go about making friends and maintaining those friendships. It also demonstrates that once something is created and put out into the world, there is no telling how far-or in which direction--it will go.

Eisenberg does a terrific job as Zuckerberg, playing him as a man who is more oblivious to the feelings of others than he is malicious. As Eduardo, the most sympathetic character in the film, Garfield delivers a performance that would deserve to be remembered come Oscar time. He makes Eduardo an everyman who simply cannot comprehend how big this little website he funded with its first $1000 is becoming.

Also very impressive is Justin Timberlake as Napster co-creator Sean Parker. He brings the right mixture of charm, self-importance, and paranoia to the man who helps Mark understand just how to make Facebook as big as it can be.

"The Social Network's" historical accuracy may be questionable but there's no denying this: Whether you use it or not, and whether it's a good thing or not, Facebook has made the world a far different place than it was just seven years ago. Where Facebook, the Internet itself, and our way of life go from here is uncertain. What is certain is that these three things are entwined.

Aaron Sorkin and David Fincher have made a movie that understands that. 9/10.